Obama hosts "Ask Me Anything" forum on Reddit: UPDATE

The president made a surprise appearance on the Internet forum Wednesday afternoon.

President Obama took to Reddit Wednesday afternoon for a surprise "Ask Me Anything" town hall-type forum on the Internet forum, causing so much traffic that the website crashed.

At about 4:30 p.m., President Obama logged on to answer questions from users regarding Internet freedom, space exploration, small businesses and other hot-button issues.

"I want to keep promoting advanced manufacturing that will bring jobs back to America, promote all-American energy sources (including wind and solar), keep investing in education and make college more affordable, rebuild our infrastructure, invest in science, and reduce our deficit in a balanced way with prudent spending cuts and higher taxes on folks making more than $250,000/year," President Obama told one young user who said she felt disenchanted by his campaign. "I don't promise that this will solve all our immediate economic challenges, but my plans will lay the foundation for long term growth for your generation, and for generations to follow."

President Obama also shared his toughest decision in office (moving forward with troops in Afghanistan) and what he'll do first thing on Nov. 7, win or lose: thank supporters, especially his volunteers and young campaign office staffers.

But the conversation wasn't all business: The president also dished on his favorite sports team ("I'm a Bulls guy") and talked about balancing work and family ("We make sure that when I'm in DC I never miss dinner with them at 6:30 p.m.").

Browsers were met with a link to a photo of President Obama on his computer, a linkto his Twitter status and a message stating he had just wrapped a rallyin Charlottesville, Va. — all to verify that the "PresidentObama"username was indeed his.

At the end of the session, he concluded: "By the way, if you want to know what I think about this whole reddit experience - NOT BAD!"

"Ask Me Anything" invites users with interesting stories to take questions from the Reddit audience. People from all walks of life — from "Jeopardy" champ Ken Jennings to a McDonald's server — have taken part.